Hey all! I've been vegan for about a year, give or take a few months, and I've had one question that's really been bugging me lately, concerning the show "Survivor" (yes, that show is still on). For those who don't know, Survivor is a reality competition show where contestants are "marooned" on an island and compete in challenges to avoid being voted out of the game. One of the big aspects of the show is the "survivalist" atmosphere, which includes food. Contestants are encouraged to catch and eat fish, and in addition, rewards to winning challenges typically include meat and dairy products. In my opinion, eating meat is only acceptable when one is in a survival scenario, (e.g. a plane crash à la Lost, no I don't only think of things in terms of TV shows ) but the voluntary nature of applying to be on a TV show seems like it would counteract that justification. What do you think? Is the behavior regarding food on Survivor ethically justifiable, or is it just more cruelty?

he voluntary nature of applying to be on a TV show seems like it would counteract that justification. What do you think? Is the behavior regarding food on Survivor ethically justifiable, or is it just more cruelty?

Correct; voluntarily putting yourself in a position where you must kill to survive is unethical (in fact they aren't in such a situation since they can leave the show at any time, they just won't win the prize at the end whatever that is).

It's like breaking into somebody's house to rob the house, and then shooting the owner in "self defense".
Even in common law, there's allowance for provocation, and as I understand killing in "self defense" after you've provoked somebody is no longer justified legally. It could be robbing the person, or it could be as simple as say sleeping with a man's wife or insulting him to his face (depends on the jurisdiction).

Agree with brimstone above, going to an island in the middle of nowhere where they can get away with brutal hunting methods for a spectacle reality TV show is distasteful to the highest degree.

I remember watching Ben Fogle's 'new lives in the wild' where he visited a family in Alaska that lost their baby to hypothermia for getting flipped over in a canoe, I stopped watching as I just couldn't imagine how they lived with themselves or hadn't become fervent activists against appeals to the primitive, ModVegan explained that it's a difficult subject for her because her Dad potentially died from health complications in Canada for choosing to live a low tech life in isolation.